Madara Uchiha
Madara Uchiha (うちはマダラ, Uchiha Madara) was a legendary shinobi who led the Uchiha clan prior to, and after the formation of Konohagakure. After allying with his rival, Hashirama Senju and the Senju clan, he and his clan helped in the founding of Konoha.[3] He eventually came to an impasse with Hashirama, and defected from the village. He was later seemingly killed by his rival at the battle at the Valley of the End, but in fact went into hiding to begin his decades-long plot, known as the Eye of the Moon Plan, which was continued by Obito Uchiha who later joined him. Madara was eventually reincarnated byKabuto Yakushi during the Fourth Shinobi World War, and becomes one of the main antagonists in the series. Background Before the era of ninja villages, Madara was considered one of the most gifted members of the Uchiha clan alongside his younger brother Izuna Uchiha. Madara also competed with Izuna as training. Even by his clan's standards, Madara's chakra was especially strong.[4] As a child, Madara met Hashirama Senju for the first time and became rivals at skipping stones. With their first meeting cut short after discovering the body of a member of the Hagoromo clan, the two would later meet again and Madara questioned Hashirama revealed that his brother had been killed in battle. Telling Hashirama that he himself once had four brothers, the pair discussed the prospect of peace for the world. It was here that Madara was finally able to skip his rock to the other side of the river.[5] As they grew older, Madara's rivalry with Hashirama increased,[6] and the two would meet by the riverbank, where they would spar and talk about changing the future. On one such occasion, Hashirama brought up the prospect of creating a village where children would not be sent to war and could grow up to be strong warriors.These meetings were not to last, however, as Madara's father Tajimasoon found out about the two boys meeting and planned an ambush. However, the two boys warned one another in time, and as they fled, their fathers and brothers confront one another.[7] After the initial scuffle, Madara and Hashirama intervened, getting between their respective families. Madara, realising that he had to chose between Hashirama and their dream or his family, regretfully decided to end his friendship with the young Senju, determined to protect his brother Izuna. Hashirama tried to make Madara reconsider, but Madara refused to let go of his anger for the Senju. He announced his full name to Hashirama, awakening his Sharingan.From then on, Madara would constantly battle Hashirama with the intent of erasing him from his past.[8] Eventually, he and Izuna awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. With their newly obtained power, the two brothers became the head of the clan, with Madara becoming its leader.[9] Sometime afterwards, Madara and Izuna fought Hashirama and Tobirama, where Izuna was mortally wounded by Tobirama. Madara retreated and Izuna died from his wounds but left Madara his eyes, granting him the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.[10] Madara later confronted Hashirama again with his new found ocular prowess, but nonetheless, after a day-long battle, he was finally defeated. Noting that he could not trust them any more, Madara told Hashirama that the only way to regain this trust was to either kill himself or his brother.[8] When Hashirama resolved to kill himself, Madara stopped him, noting his courage and accepted the truce.The Senju, the Uchiha, and all the clans they had conquered came together to form the ninja village Madara and Hashirama once dreamed of together.[12] Ultimately, it was Madara who named the village Konohagakure. Madara's relationship with Hashirama steadily became much like from their childhood, sharing their ideas and hopes. When Hashirama told Madara about the plans for the village leader, who would be known as the Hokage, he wished to give the title of Hokage to Madara. Tobirama, however, noted that this should be a democratic decision and not a unilateral one, citing that in any case, the villagers would never accept Madara as such. Madara, who was spying on the Senju siblings, began to grow uneasy from this lack of trust, doubting the worth of this village.[11] During the time he was a shinobi of Konohagakure, Madara approached Mūand Ōnoki where he informed them that despite the alliance that Iwagakure had made with Konoha, his village was to remain the dominant power and that from that point on, they would obey Konoha.[13] Afterwards, Madara fought and defeated them when they engaged him in battle.Later, Hashirama would instead be elected as Hokage and at the Naka Shrine, Hashirama expressed his wish that Madara inherit the title of Second Hokage once the villagers started seeing him in another light, however, Madara noted that Tobirama would more than likely inherit that title, and that when he did, it would not bode well for the Uchiha.[15] Later meeting in the Naka Shrine, Madara told Hashirama his intent on leaving the village and he had a plan to make his dream become a reality while at the same time, falling victim to the Curse of Hatred once again.[11] Hashirama tried to convince Madara to let him help his childhood friend, but Madara scoffed at Hashirama's attempt to follow him, saying that no one can get behind him.Abandoned by his clan, Madara left the village, sought out Kurama, and subdued it using his Sharingan.[17][18] He later returned in order to challenge Hashirama in battle, fighting at the site that would someday be called the Valley of the End. The battle waged well into the night, leaving both shinobi battered and exhausted and Madarastripped of his control over Kurama. With both of them too weak to use their strongest techniques anymore, they made one final clash, leaving Madara the one standing and looking down over Hashirama in victory. However, due to not having enough chakra to access his Sharingan, Madara couldn't tell that the defeated Hashirama was actually a clone, and was shocked to find the real Hashirama standing behind him and stabbing him through the chest. Quickly losing consciousness, Madara vowed that one day Konohagakure would be shrouded in darkness, and appeared to have died from his wound.ossession of Kurama was completely taken from him by Hashirama's wife, Mito.[19][20] In spite of this, Madara survived the stab wound given to him by Hashirama and went into hiding. He then used Hashirama's cells, which he had acquired on the battlefield, and transplanted them into his wounds.[21] Though he noted that nothing happened at first, when he was nearing the end of his natural lifespan, he awakened the Rinnegan.[21] He also acquired the Wood Release kekkei genkai,[22][23]and with both Senju and Uchiha DNA — the ability to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.[21] He later transplanted his Rinnegan eyes into Nagato without the young man knowing,[21]and replaced his left eye with a spare Sharingan.[24] Years later, Madara had been reduced to using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as a life support system, constantly being supplied chakra by it or else he would die immediately.[25] Also from the stolen cells of Hashirama, Madara used the statue to cultivate a living clone of Hashirama.During the Third Shinobi World War, he saved Obito Uchiha after the battle of Kannabi Bridge, using artificial mass to replace the destroyed half of Obito's body.[26] He told Obito that he would have to repay his debt to him slowly.[24] Madara then left White Zetsu and a spiral-patterned clone with the task of guarding Obito and helping him with his rehabilitation, so he could be useful to him by the time he woke up.[27] After Obito returned to him as he had predicted, Madara, now certain that Obito was sincere, carried him into a genjutsu and told him about the Sage of the Six Paths and the Ten-Tails.[28] He then explained how he had awakened the Rinnegan, gained access to the empty shell of the Ten-Tails, and cultivated Hashirama's cells.[29][30][31][32] He would go on to teach him among other things various kinjutsu, advanced Uchiha techniques, the Yin–Yang Release, and the power of the Rinnegan. Before passing, Madara also created Black Zetsu by pouring his will into White Zetsu and also left part of his will in the chakra receiver which extends from the statue's navel. With that, Madara disconnected himself from the statue and, with his dying breath, told Obito to go and, until the time he was revived, he was to act under his name.Fulfilling the legendary Uchiha's request, Obito, now known as "Tobi", began operating under his name while concealing his face. Due to his first-hand knowledge of Madara's actions and deeds, other shinobi were led to believe he was in fact the legendary ninja himself. However, thanks to researching the matter with Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi learned the truth behind Madara's time after the Valley of the End and actual death, reincarnating the ninja to blackmail Tobi into letting him aid him during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War where Kabuto partly exposed Tobi's deception. Abilities Madara is considered by many notable individuals to be one of the most gifted shinobi in history and the most powerful shinobi that the Uchiha clan has ever produced.[99][100][101] Even as a young child, he was noted by Butsuma Senju as a skilled prodigy who managed to kill several older and more experienced shinobi of the Senju clan.[102]The fact that he was able to clash with Hashirama Senju, who was recognised as the strongest shinobi in the world in his time, also indicates that Madara was also one of the strongest ninja of his time. Overall, Madara's power, influence, fame and status were so great that his name alone was enough to incite terror, and Tobi was able to use that to his advantage to instigate a world war.[103] Prior to his departure from Konoha, Madara was able to single-handedly defeat Mū and Ōnoki; with both of them eventually becoming the Second and Third Tsuchikagerespectively, while holding back most of his power, without getting so much as a scratch on him, despite the fact that the battle itself was fierce enough to destroy the surrounding area and structures.After being reincarnated, Madara's very presence on the battlefield during the Fourth Shinobi World War was so menacing that an entire army division began cowering in fear and compelled all five of the current Kage to confront him together, feeling any less than their combined efforts would not be enough to stop Madara.[105] He proved to be so overwhelmingly powerful that he was able to destroy most of the Fourth Division and nearly kill the five Kage on multiple occasions by himself, without even using the full extent of his powers, and leave them all in a state of awe, fear and terror at his might.[106][107] Tsunade was so baffled by Madara's extraordinary prowess as a ninja that she questioned how it was possible that her grandfather had really defeated such an opponent in the past when they, the five Kage, couldn't do so in the present.[108] This testament to Madara's unnaturally immense power was shown further when he managed to easily defeat the five Kage single-handedly when he decided to fight seriously.Madara was a skilled taijutsu fighter since childhood, possessing notable physical strength, great speed, and remarkable reflexes, with his overall skill in this area matching that of his rival, Hashirama.[110]In his adulthood, he was capable of easily disarming a sword-wielding shinobi, before the latter could react and repel another shinobi twice his size with a single spinning back kick, onto an oncoming group of shinobi, knocking them all off their feet.[111][112] He also managed to defend himself from other highly skilled and powerful taijutsu fighters such as Tsunade and A, without the use of his Susanoo.In the anime, his taijutsu skills are further expanded upon, as he was able to outmatch and defeat hundreds of armed and unarmed shinobi of the Fourth Division with ease. His physical skills in conjunction with the predictive capabilities of his Sharingan allows him to fluidly strike and counter enemies attacks with dangerous coordination and accuracy, leaving little-to-no time for enemies to counter, even seamlessly dodge and attack multiple opponents at the same time. Also in the anime, Madara's physical strength is further displayed, as seen by him nonchalantly lifting and tossing around several shinobi of the Fourth Division, sometimes with only one hand. Also, his durability was high as he was unfazed from taking a Wind Release attack from Temari.Even as a child, Madara had a high level of speed, as Butsuma Senju was very impressed with how fast the Uchiha could move.[116] As an adult, Madara's speed and reflexes are immense, as he was able to easily dodge Gaara's high-speed sand attacks, Mei's close range Lava Release technique and even react to A clad in his Lightning Release Armour, with the last two attacks being used in immediate succession.[117][118] In the anime, when facing the Fourth Division, Madara covered large distances across the battlefield, moving with such speed that none of the enemy shinobi could land a hit on him or defend against his attacks.As an Uchiha, Madara was naturally a master of Fire Release nature transformation, capable of producing techniques of massive scale and power. As an Uchiha, he was able to use the clan's coming-of-age technique: Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique with great proficiency[119] and in the anime, he could shower his opponents with a barrage of fireballs.[115] He was also versed in more advanced and destructive Fire Release techniques such as the Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation technique which required the combination of numerous Water Release: Water Encampment Walls to extinguish,[120] and the Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction technique which he used to incinerate a large portion of the forest he had created. He can create dragon-shaped fireballs for a wide barrage at an enemy.[121] In the anime, Madara could also use Wind Release through his trademark gunbai to create powerful gusts of wind capable of repelling an entire platoon of shinobi with a single swing.After his confrontation with Hashirama Senju at the Valley of the End, Madara acquired some of his cells, which eventually granted him the Wood Release nature transformation. After acquiring this kekkei genkai, Madara has displayed knowledge and extensive use of this ability, replicating some of Hashirama's more large-scaled and highly destructive techniques such as creating numerous massive trees with which to attack his opponents directly,[123] and a dense forest of flowering trees, whose pollen can render a foe unconscious. He is able to merge with and hide within trees.[124] He is also capable of creating single or multiple wood clones using the pre-existing vegetation and wood in the immediate vicinity as a medium.[125] Madara can also use Hashirama's Wood Dragon, which was capable of binding Kurama during his final battle against the Senju leader.[54] This was shown in battle against Naruto, where the dragon managed to completely bind Naruto and absorb the full-Kurama cloak from Naruto's Tailed Beast Mode while growing trees across its length.Using Hashirama's cells, Madara can produce a series of roots from his body that can connect to and grant him control over a tailed beast, even one as powerful as the Ten-Tails. The level of control exerted is apparently linked to the number of roots that are connected to the beast, though he noted that his and Obito's control over the Ten-Tails was not perfect. Madara can also use the Wood Release's component natures: earth and water.Madara also displayed an extensive knowledge of Yin–Yang Release, its component Yin and Yang as well as techniques which involved this kind of nature manipulation such as Izanagi; knowledge he would impart to Obito.[126] Madara noted that the White Zetsu clones were created using the Yin–Yang Release. He also displayed the ability to materialise his will to suit his needs. Using this ability, Madara created Black Zetsu, by infusing part of his will into White Zetsu, and the chakra receivers by giving them physical form. Due to the chakra receivers being his will incarnate, Madara can control anyone who has these inside their body, causing them to sprout and cover the target's body with a black matter, akin to how Black Zetsu was first created.As a member of the Uchiha clan, Madara has displayed skilful use of a wide range of weaponry throughout the series. His trademark weapon is the gunbai, which he uses as both a mace and a shield. The one he used is durable enough to block a miniature Tailed Beast Ball. Aside from his melee skills with the gunbai, Madara displayed use of techniques using this weapon as a medium. He could use it to absorb and return the force of an enemy attack.[127] By flowing chakrathrough his gunbai, Madara can produce a large barrier that was strong enough to block Obito's giant stakes thrown by Naruto in his Tailed Beast Mode.In addition to the gunbai, he also wielded a kama, using both weapons in conjunction with each other when his final confrontation against Hashirama took place and later used one as a makeshift cane in his elder years.[129][130] His arsenal also included several giant shuriken and a chain with weights.[131] In the anime, when facing the Fourth Division, Madara took possession of, and skilfully used several of his enemies' weapons such as a set of spears.Madara also developed the chakra receiver rods to be used as part of the Six Paths Technique and for his revival.[132] He can also remotely control these rods as seen when he manipulated the ones embedded in Obito's body to protect him from Sasuke's assault.Madara has been a practised kenjutsu user since his childhood,[134]and as time passed started to carry various different swords throughout the years.[135] He was shown as a skilled and versatile swordsman, most prominently seen during the Fourth Shinobi World War when he effortlessly disarmed a shinobi, commandeered his sword and used it to cut down several members of the Fourth Division with ease, while wielding the blade in a reverse grip.[111] The speed of his attacks were so great that none of the shinobi he killed using this combat tactic had any time to react.[111] In the anime, Madara displayed an even more prominent use of kenjutsu, stealing and using multiple swords, even broken ones and several different fighting patterns to cut down his enemies.Madara possesses an intricate knowledge on genetics and human anatomy as he was able to cultivate cells taken from Hashirama into a mindless clone flower large enough for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sit upon which would later serve as the basis to create both the first prototypes of White Zetsu and artificial body parts from it. Using the cultivated cells from Hashirama, he was able to produce and attach tendrils to his back from the clone that allowed him absorb chakra from the Statue, as a makeshift life support system to extend his lifespan.He has also demonstrated similar knowledge of surgical and medical skills, being able to remove his own eyes and transplant them to Nagato without the latter noticing and also replace at least one of his lost eyes.[137] He also used the artificial bodies created by the flower clone of Hashirama to replace the destroyed portions of Obito's body, as well as treat the young Uchiha's extensive wounds. Sharingan Madara first awakened his Sharingan as a child, after rejecting his friendship to Hashirama Senju.[139] He was able to master the Sharingan at a young age — a feat which he received significant praise for.[92] Using it, he gains access to the dōjutsu's generic abilities such as seeing chakra, predicting movements, and placing a victim under paralysing genjutsu with just a single glance, leading those who had faced him to advise others to not look directly at his eyes whilst confronting him.[112] Madara is able to use these abilities in conjunction with his primed taijutsu and weapons skills in battle to deadly effects, leaving his opponents with very little time to react or means of defence. The perceptive abilities of Madara's Sharingan were also considerable as he was the only one who could discern Hashirama's use of wood clones when the Uchiha and the Senju fought against each other.With his Sharingan, Madara is able to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and is also one of the two known people along with Tobi, that are capable of summoning the beast.[140][18] However, its sealing inside various jinchūriki, presently Naruto Uzumaki, has rendered him unable to summon the beast.[141] He is also capable of using one of his clan's most powerful and forbidden dōjutsu, Izanagi.[142] After removing and transfering his eyes to Nagato, he would replace atleast one of them with another Sharingan in his elder years, before his death. Mangyekyo Sharingan Madara, alongside his brother Izuna, was the first Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Much later after awakening it, with Madara's own eyesight deteriorating,[143] and Izuna mortally wounded, the latter left Madara his eyes, which then led to Madara obtaining the "Eternal" Mangekyō Sharingan — a combination of his own and Izuna's Mangekyō. Madara considered this a final gift from his brother to ensure the protection of their clan.Madara has since used his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.[145]Madara demonstrated the ability to use Susanoo — and is therefore also able to use Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu by extension — though they have yet to be seen. Unseen in others' variations, Madara's Susanoo demonstrates two entirely different sides that are conjoined along the spine, with each displaying a pair of arms, two distinct faces, and a complete lower half inclusive of feet.His Susanoo's defensive capabilities are high, even in its ribcage state, having withstood Naruto Uzumaki's Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan, as well as A's Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop completely undamaged.[150][151] His Susanoo's defensive power was also great enough to withstand the Ten-Tails' Tenpenchii — a feat done, while in its complete form — without being damaged.[152] Due to its ability to manifest legs, Madara's Susanoo possesses far greater speed, flexibility and movement range, than that of other Susanoo users. It wields undulating blades in the right hand of each side, which when used by Susanoo's final form, are durable enough to withstand the impact of a caught and redirected Tailed Beast Ball at close range from Hashirama Senju's wood golem.[153] Its offensive capabilities are seen further when it sliced up all the nearby mountains during his final battle with Hashirama Senju.[154] Uniquely, it appears to be capable of contributing towards some of Madara's techniques, as it was seen forming hand seals together with him during battle. Madara is also able to use the Yasaka Magatama technique.Madara's Susanoo's final form is an enormous construct with its mouth obscured and a body similar to its full body form. The outer armour, which only remotely resembles the usual tengu with armour, and the trademark pillbox hat-like adornment on the forehead is split down the middle from the beak downwards where the normal Susanoo underneath is revealed. Along this armour, which seems much more fluid than the other known Susanoo's, are holes at the end. In its stabilised form, the Susanoo dons an outer armour and a samurai outfit. It also has four arms, two plated ones which hold a pair of katana in sheaths, the other pair of which wields them.[108] In this form, one swing of its katana is enough to destroy an entire mountain range.[156] According to Madara, this final Susanoo is his full power, which is also comparable to that of a tailed beast.[157][158] Madara has also displayed a unique use of Susanoo, shaping it as an armour to clad Kurama.[159][160] With this the beast's offensive abilities are increased tremendously as seen by the unique combination of the Tailed Beast Ball with Madara's Susanoo sword, that added tremendeous cutting power to the attack and created the river and waterfall at the Valley of the End.[161][162] Only techniques like the Top Transformed Buddha are strong enough to pierce and destroy the defence of Madara's final Susanoo.Several years after infusing himself with Hashirama's cells, Madara awakened the Rinnegan in his older years. Due to its nature as a heightened form of his original dōjutsu, Madara possesses the ability to switch between his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and his Rinnegan at will.[164] With the Rinnegan, Madara gains a series of abilities, such as the ability to see chakra, the potential to master all five forms of nature transformation and the ability to summon and control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.As a user of the Rinnegan, Madara can access the powers of the Six Paths Technique, displaying use of the Preta Path, with which he was able to absorb chakra-based ninjutsu, regardless of their power or complexity.[165] However, it should be noted that while using the powers granted by the Rinnegan, he has not, except in the case of Susanoo, shown to be able to simultaneously access those granted by the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.Madara also displayed the unique ability to combine power of his Rinnegan with that of his Susanoo, pulling two massive meteorites towards the battlefield from the atmosphere above.[167] Even if the first meteorite was slowed down and stopped, the second one would strike the first, ensuring their collision. Using this technique just a single time, Madara devastated most of the Fourth Division. Intelligence Aside from his battle skills, Madara has also displayed high-level intellect, as well as strategic and manipulative skills. He is able to create elaborate plans that span across decades such as the Eye of the Moon and setting up various pawns by playing with and twisting their own ideals, feelings and goals, in order to aid him through direct or indirect ways. The best example of this is his former apprentice and associate Obito, who he twisted from a kind, good-natured child into an extremely dark, bitter and manipulative individual.He is also an adept tactician as seen when he preferred to use the Ten-Tails' matured powers to destroy the Allied Forces HQ in order to obliterate their intelligence centre, rather than directly engaging the Allied Forces army.[182] Madara is also versed in psychological warfare, mind games and psychological torture games, choosing to focus his efforts into breaking the battle spirits of his adversaries through manipulation and intimidation with deliberate displays of his overwhelming power. He targets the enemies that have the greatest charisma and leadership skills of a group, such as Ōnoki[183][184][185] and Naruto on separate occasions. In the anime, his mental prowess in battle is further shown. Even when being "pressured" by thousands of enemies, he remains composed and calculating, quickly able to adjust to any new development and change his battle tactics effortlessly.As a battle genius, Madara can identify and counter most forms of ninjutsu almost immediately and he is rarely caught off-guard, at which point he quickly adapts to the situation. This knowledge is extensive, intricate and far-reaching to the point where he has inside awareness to the abilities of historical individuals and creatures, such as the Sage of the Six Paths, the tailed beasts and their origin. Madara also appears to be a skilled teacher, as he was able to pass on most of his immense knowledge and skills to Obito, which greatly developed the young Uchiha's abilities and allowed him to emulate Madara's mindset and combat prowess to near-perfection. Even his rival Hashirama Senju praised Madara's intellect and resourcefulness during their final battle.Madara is an adept sensor type shinobi. Despite not having encountered Hashirama for several decades, he was quickly able to detect and recognise the mighty Senju's chakra even though he was some distance away.[197] He also displayed the ability to perform a series of well-coordinated attacks with his former student and partner, Obito Uchiha.